The Hawaii House on Wednesday adopted a resolution seeking an exemption from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) stipulating that the state is permitted to run its medical cannabis program without federal interference. Separately, the Senate approved two resolutions calling on state officials to study the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin mushrooms and create a plan that would provide equitable access to the fungi for adult patients. For the cannabis measure, the legislation asks the state Health Department to seek an “exception to regulations” from DEA and to petition for a rulemaking process that would clarify that state-level legalization is not in violation of federal drug laws. The unanimously approved resolution states that “federal law expressly prohibits the use of marijuana, despite the evidence of the benefits of using medical cannabis” and “this lack of clarity between state and federal marijuana laws has repercussions for medical cannabis patients and the State’s medical cannabis dispensaries.”
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 04/01/2021 11:31:00